Abstract
Following essay provides a comparison of two monuments - one of František Palacký in Prague and second of Theodor Mommsen in Berlin. Both of the men were key historians of their nations in 19th century.
Palacký has offered a master-narative of Czech national past in his famous book The History of Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia and set the main structures of "telling Czech history" for two centuries. Theodor Mommsen has become a worldwide known historian due to his extraordinary History of Rome, for which he has obtained Nobel Price for Literature in 1903.
Monuments of these historians were built in the begining of 20th century (Palacký's in 1912, Mommsen's in 1909). The point of following essay is to be focused on structural similarities between the monuments, especially in area of collective memory.
Using theory of Maurice Halbwachs, that was formulated just before World War II, essay points out, that there is a fundamental connection between memory and space. Naratives about both Palacký and Mommsen reproduced by collectives form surrounding materials (spaces) and these shaped spaces are re-read again by members of the collectives.
In fact there is no great difference between Palacký's and Mommsen's monument in perspective offered in this essay.